Talk about the iPad 2 (like the iPad 2 itself) is so boring that people are now starting to speculate about the iPad 3. Those rumors got a big shot in the arm yesterday as two prominent pundits - John Gruber of Daring Fireball and MG Siegler of TechCrunch - predicted that Apple will release a third-generation iPad in the fall. While Gruber made it clear that his guess was pure speculation, Siegler quotes a "very good" anonymous source as saying that Apple is planning a "big fall surprise" relating to the iPad 3, and asserts that this is "not a guess."

John Gruber, who has a wealth of insider contacts at Apple, wrote that he wasn't relying on any of those sources when he predicted that Apple would switch to a late-fall release schedule. Right now, the iPad 2 is almost certainly on track for release 12 months after its predecessor first shipped in April 2010. As we all know, new iPhones ship in June or July and iPods ship in September. And while iPod refreshes are scheduled in the fall to position them for the holiday season, Gruber notes that the iPad was wildly popular last Christmas, and so his reasoning here was that it would make more sense to release new iPads in the fall to better compete for the holiday dollar. Add to that the fact that the HP TouchPad is shipping in the summer with specs like the rumored iPad 2's, and you have a good rationale for a September release to upstage the potential challenger.

That was all well and good as a theory, but then MG Siegler at TechCrunch stepped up with a corroborating story, attributing it to a "very good source" within Apple, that said a "big surprise" was coming in the fall regarding a third-generation iPad. Why would Apple release two new models in a year? Well, for one thing, the TechCrunch article notes, the coming second-generation iPad is really more like the iPhone 3GS was compared to the iPhone 3G: a minor update, not a complete refresh. (We've already received rumors that this will be called the iPad "S" rather than the iPad 2.) And having had the tablet market all to itself for a year, Apple's not about to lay back and let competitors move in. As Gruber suggests, "they’re not going to leave any gas in the tank pushing the iPad hardware specs forward as fast as they can." Siegler said, however, that his "information on this isn't a guess," though obviously we don't have any way of judging whether his source is any good.

Gruber also allowed that it might be possible that Apple might go to a twice-yearly upgrade schedule, like in the early days of the PC industry, or split the product line into "consumer" and "pro" levels as they did with the MacBook. As always, this is all talk until something is actually released, and even if Apple is talking about this now, there's no guarantee that it'll happen this way come September. However, even though there's always a lot of rumor-mongering about Apple products, these particular high-profile commentators have put their credibility on the line with this, especially in Siegler's case. Either way, it looks like the next six months are going to be a wild time for the iPad and its competing tablets.

I'm not buying into it. At most, it'd be a simple modification of the iPad 2 rather than an entirely new product. Gruber's thoughts and opinions mean practically nothing to me. I don't understand why people hang on his every word.

I thought this was silly too, but it's not completely implausible. Apple might just release a stopgap iPad refresh soon with a full revision later this year, if that revision isn't ready yet. Who's to say that Apple won't accelerate their revision timetable to fight off competitors in this lucrative market? They practically own the tablet market right now, and tablets could replace laptops and PCs over time (not to mention they get 30% of the profits of all apps downloaded through iTunes, which is a huge deal).

There is no way that Apple would do this. They would completely destroy the faith customers have in them if they knowingly and willingly sell iPad 2's in April-May timeframe just to declare the newest and better iPad 3 to be available in September-or later in 2011.

There is no way that Apple would do this. They would completely destroy the faith customers have in them if they knowingly and willingly sell iPad 2's in April-May timeframe just to declare the newest and better iPad 3 to be available in September-or later in 2011.

I wouldn't say "no way.". I would say "unlikely" though. But at the end of day its the dollars that matter so I guess we will see!

Well if I was Apple I'd be saying, well our customers will buy a new model every year even with minimal upgrades, so lets see if they'll buy buy our products twice a year.
Apple could very easily do this and the Sheep will still buy in droves.

Ok now some of these rumors are just getting out of hand. Heck, at least post rumors with a little truth behind them.

On the other hand, I can see numerous variations of iPad within the next year but I can't see them dropping more than one flagship device. Thats like Ford releasing 2 different GT 500 . Just release a different variation thats a little different more or less.

From the current sources about what iPad2 is gonna be, which is only slightly powerful than an iPad, I'd probably give XOOM or other tablet a try. Apple is planned obsolete on all their product, if they are not willing to offer something more competitive, people will not choose it. Remember, tablet market has lots of potential buyers out there, and the people that buy them aren't dumb either. Unless they are die hard apple fans of course.

Perhaps apple will just release iOS 5.x in the fall. Similar to how iOS 4.0 came out for the iPhone in the summer and then eventually made it's way to the iPad making it much better.. Like a new iPad version almost

You're kidding, right? It's not EVEN a stretch to say that Apple OWNS the tablet market. When you're product is the fastest adopted piece of technology in history, I think it's safe to say that you own the market.

As far as Fujitsu tablets, how many people can even name 1 Fujitsu tablet model? I know I can't. The business tablet market didn't hardly exist before the iPad. I'm not saying that no businesses had them, I'm just saying that very few did. How many businesses have made a place for the iPad? A whole bunch. Apple OWNS the tablet market. For now.